New Jersey Transit – Hector Arreola – 2016

Goals:

After two successful EDF Climate Corps fellowships, NJ TRANSIT decided to enlist a third fellow, Hector Arreola, to develop a strategic energy and sustainability plan. Already engaged in evaluating its energy use, implementing resilient infrastructure and pursuing sustainability, NJ TRANSIT is also investigating technologies that will help reduce its carbon footprint. An additional goal was to develop metric to measure success. 

Solutions:

Hector developed a draft of a Strategic Energy and Sustainability Plan, which guides the organization through several steps for decreasing energy use, improving carbon footprint and reducing overall costs. To meet these goals, he developed tools, such as a project evaluation device, that were crafted

Hector then prepared a project finance model to summarize the amount of energy and sustainable initiatives that are needed to fund efficiency projects. Using the American Public Transportation Association’s protocol, he drafted a spreadsheet that estimates NJ TRANSIT’s GHG emissions over the course of several years.

Potential Impact:

Hector’s work will help NJ TRANSIT better identify opportunities to mitigate energy costs, encourage sustainable practices, potentially reduce its environmental footprint, and better prioritize its energy investments.